Empathy and support. That’s how The Knot approached storytelling with every piece of their brand and marketing in the wake of COVID-19. “Even though we’re a brand that should be talking about getting inspired,” said Amanda Goetz, VP of Marketing for the global wedding planning company, “the most important thing we have to do is be there for the people who are impacted right now.”
Goetz leads marketing strategies for The Knot, including everything from PR and social to partnerships.
In this episode of #Storyteller, Amanda opens up about building a brand, how their marketing has changed in the last 6 months, and why she stands behind an unfiltered, authentic approach to social media.
On building a brand:
When you think about building brands, it’s art and science. I think a lot of people when they start in the marketing world, they’re looking for data to tell them everything. I think what makes a great marketer is the synthesis of that data, and pairing it with just gut instinct of what’s happening in the landscape…If you are doing social listening, and you are spending the time talking to people, you’re going to get a feel for what they need, what they want, and where the gaps are.
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There’s no one way to build a brand. You have to listen, and then go with a decision that you can truly, truly defend because you believe in it. Then start building things that support that defense, and then iterate. A brand is a living thing, and I think people want this brand strategy deck to happen and magically appear, and be like, this is going to tell us everything. Just like your customers evolve, so will your brand.
On connecting with your consumers:
That’s the holy grail of having a brand is a 1-to-1 connection with your end consumer…We have zero-based inbox on social media. If someone takes the time to interact with our brand, how am I supporting our team to make sure we are responding, and we are there when they are taking the time? … Customer service is a huge component of that. How are we making sure that our brand comes to life, and that authenticity, that you actually feel the brand sentiment through everything? Every email touchpoint feels human. The brand voice and tone feels like a personal wedding planner has got your back.
On how The Knot pivoted amidst the pandemic:
By the time shelter in place got announced, we were able to launch our 24-7 hotline that was just around empathy and support and guidance. The big thing that we shared with our team is right now, even though we’re a brand that should be talking about getting inspired and all these things couples will still be planning for months to come, the most important thing we have to do is be there for the people who are impacted right now. So we stopped posting on social media and just started posting COVID-related resources…Empathy and support was all we did for about 4 weeks. That meant we weren’t talking about anything else…We really let our audience tell us when they were ready for us to go back to news about weddings, other people getting married.
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